Ice cube maker with temperature sensing means



May 24, 1966 FREl, 5 3,252,293

ICE CUBE MAKER WITH TEMPERATURE SENSING MEANS Filed Aug. 24, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet l so s2 80 r I 57 I INVENTZOR. F lg. Arthur J. Frel, 5/.

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ICE CUBE MAKER WITH TEMPERATURE SENSING MEANS Filed Aug. 24, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Arthur J. Prev, 5/.

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INVENTOR Arf/wr J. Frei, 8r.

His Attorney United States Patent 3,252,293 rcE CUBE MAKER WITH TEMPERATURE SENSING MEANS Arthur J. Frei, Sin, Dayton, Ohio, assignor to General This invention pertains to refrigerating apparatus and more particularly to liquid freezer and freezing trays or molds.

It is often desired to supply users with different sizes of frozen pellets or cubes. It is therefore desirable to provide interchangeable molds or trays having different sized pockets to provide the different sized pellets or cubes. In automatic machines it is often desired to employ one of the pockets as a detector to detect completion of freezing of the liquid in each of the pockets of the mold or tray. Where the molds or trays have different numbers and sizes of pockets, the lack of uniformity between the various trays is likely to cause difficulties in the detection of the completion of the freezing when they are interchanged or applied to otherwise identical machines.

It is an object of this invention to prevent lack of uniformity in the detection of freezing when molds having different sized liquid freezing pockets are interchanged or used interchangeably.

It is another object of this invention to provide a uniform liquid freezing detecting pocket in all of the interchangeable molds or trays having different sized liquid freezing pockets which may be applied to a single automatic freezer or to identical automatic freezers.

It is another object of this invention to provide a set of liquid freezing molds or trays each having a single uniformly sized detecting pocket together with sets of different sized smaller pockets in longitudinal and transverse rows adjoining the single pocket for application to a single automatic freezer or to identical automatic freezers.

These and other objects are attained in the form shown in the drawings in which an automatic freezer of the elongated plastic twistable tray or mold type is located in the freezing compartment of a refrigerator in the path of air circulating at below water freezing temperatures. The freezer is provided with a plurality of interchangeable molds or plastic trays each of which has a liquid freezing detector pocket of the same size preferably located atone end or any other location in the array of cubes of the tray or mold. The different molds or trays may also be applied to identical freezers. The remaining pockets in the mold may either be of the same or different size in a single row or they may be in two or three longitudinal rows with the pockets also being arranged in five or six transverse rows. These more numerous pockets are either of smaller or larger size than the freezing detecting pocket and are either smaller or larger than the pockets, trays or molds having but a single row of pockets.

The freezer is arranged to automatically fill a tray or mold and to hold the tray or mold in a horizontal position during freezing. The freezing of the liquid in the single detecting pocket controls the turning and twisting of the tray to eject the frozen liquid from all the pockets into a suitable collecting bin.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein a preferred embodiment of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view through the lower portion of a household refrigerator illustrating an automatic freezer embodying my invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary top view of the automatic freezer shown in FIG. 1 illustrating a tray or mold having a single row of liquid freezing pockets;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken along the line 44 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary top view similar to FIG. 2 showing the substitution of a tray with three longitudinal rows of pockets;

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along the line 66 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary top view similar to FIGS. 2 and 5 showing the substitution of a tray with two longitudinal rows of pockets; and

FIG. 8 is an irregular vertical sectional view taken along the line 8-8 of FIG. 7.

Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown a household refrigerator 20 having an upper above freezing compartment 22, a lower below freezing compartment 24 and a machinery compartment 26 beneath the below freezing compartment 24. In the machinery compartment 26 is a sealed motor compressor unit 28 which withdraws evaporated refrigerant from the fin and tube evaporator 30 and compresses the refrigerant and forwards the compressed refrigerant to a condenser 32 from which the liquefied refrigerant passes through a restrictor expansion device 34 to the evaporator 30. The evaporator 30 is located between the bottom insulated wall 36 and the false bottom wall 38 within an evaporator chamber 40. Air is drawn from the compartment 24 through an entrance 42 into heat transfer relation with the evaporator 30 by a centrifugal fan 44 driven by an electric motor 46. The fan discharges the air upwardly through a duct 48 in the rear wall of the compartment 24 from which the cold air is delivered through an opening 50 over the elongated plastic rectangular twistable freezing tray or mold 76 of the automatic freezer 54. The compartments 24 and 22 are closed by the insulated doors 57 and 58. The refrigerating system is operated so as to keep the evaporator 30 at a relatively cold temperature such as between about +5 F. and -10 F. This makes it possible to deliver cold dry air to the compartment 24 sufficient to keep the compartment 24 between the temperatures of +11 F. and 2 F. The refrigerator may, for example, be like that shown in Pat. No. 2,912,834 issued Nov. 17, 1959.

The automatic freezer or ice maker 54 may be in principle similar to that shown in Pat. No. 3,071,933 issued Jan. 8, 1963. The ice maker includes a rectangular frame 56 connected at the front to a housing 60 enclosing a drive mechanism. The drive mechanism may include an electric motor similar to the electric motor 29 of said Patent No. 3,071,933 which may have a drive shaft 62 projecting from the housing 60 provided with flats 64 on opposite sides of its end portion. This end portion of the drive shaft 62 fits into the adjacent tray support 66 which is fastened to one end of the tray 76 by a suitable clamping arrangement held by a set of screws or bolts 68. The opposite end of the tray 76 may be similarly connected to a similar tray support which is connected by a short shaft with the opposite sides flattened to a means for limiting the movement of this opposite end of the tray in a manner similar to that shown in the aforesaid Patent No. 3,071,933. That is, such a shaft may be connected to a cam similar to the cam 30 in this patent.

The liquid to be frozen, such as Water, is supplied through a supply pipe 78 under the control of a flow control device 80 and a solenoid valve 82 to a discharge spout 84 which delivers the liquid to be frozen to the liquid holding freezing detector-pocket 86 in the tray 76 which is preferably the first, but can be at any other location in the array of cubes and which is preferably nearest the housing 60. This pocket 86 is provided with a miniature detecting switch or device 88 located directly on the outer wall of this pocket and enclosed in the insulating material 90 enclosing the pocket 86 capable of initiating the tray turning and twisting steps to eject the frozen pellets or cubes. The liquid to be frozen is discharged from the discharge spout 84 into the detector pocket 86 from which it overflows through a weir 92 into the next pocket 94 and then through the weirs 96 consecutively to the remaining pockets 98 in the tray 76. When a measured amount of the liquid is delivered to the tray 76, the supply is stopped and the tray 76 held horizontally until the liquid in all of the pockets is completely frozen. Since the pocket 86 is insulated by the insulating cap 90, it will be the last to freeze, thereby assuring that the liquid in the remaining pockets has frozen.

When the liquid in the pocket 86 freezes, the miniature switch detector 88 or any other suitable detecting device will be cooled below the freezing temperature and thereby restarts the operation of the mechanism in the housing 60. This mechanism will then turn the tray 76 more than 90 and then twist the tray 76 until the liquid frozen in the pockets thereof will be ejected into the bin 121 directly beneath the tray 76. After this the tray 76 may be returned to the horizontal position by the same mechanism and refilled in the manner previously described.

According to my invention to provide a selection of different sized cubes for the user or to provide substantially identical automatic ice makers with different sized pockets for different sized pellets, I provide interchangeable trays 123 and 125 which are interchangeable with the tray 76 and which may be readily substituted for the tray 76 by merely disconnecting the tray 76 by removing the fastening screws or bolts 68 and disconnecting the tray 76 from the end bracket 66 and the corresponding bracket at the opposite end and substituting either the tray 123 or the tray 125. In my invention, each of the trays 123 and 125 have at the end adjacent the control housing 60 a pocket designated by the reference character 127 in FIG. and 129 in FIG. 7, which is substantially identical in size and shape to the pocket 86 shown inFIGS. 2 to 4. This assures that the trays 123 and 125 will have substantially the same freezing time as the tray 76 before the ejection cycle begins and will provide the same assurance that all the cubes are completely frozen before being ejected into the bin 121.

The tray 123 is provided with a miniature detector switch or other suitable detecting advice 131 in the same location as the miniature switch or detecting device 88 in the tray 76 and the pocket .127 is similarly provided with an insulating cap 133 which encloses the detecting device 131. Similarly the pocket 129 is provided with an identical miniature detecting switch or detecting device 135 which is similarly enclosed by an insulating cap 137 enclosing the bottom of the compartment 129.

The tray' 123 adjoining the pocket 127 is provided with three longitudinal rows 139, 141 and 143 of small sized pockets which are arranged in transverse rows of three. Preferably there are four pockets in each of the longitudinal rows. The pocket 127 is separated from the remaining pockets by a wall 145 which, however, is connected through a weir 147 to the adjacent pocket in the middle row 141. The rows 139 and 141 are separated by a longitudinal wall 149 while the rows 141 and 143 are separated by the longitudinal wall 151. The pockets are also separated by transverse walls such as the walls 153. Weirs such as the weirs 155 and 157 are provided at the intersections of the longitudinal and transverse walls 149, 151 and 153 for distributing the liquid to be frozen to all the pockets in the three longitudinal rows. This arrangement continues throughout the tray. The walls may also be provided with the stiffening ribs 159 to make substantially uniform the twisting of the'tray during the ejection of the pellets from the pockets.

4 In FIGS. 7 and 8, the tray has a similar pattern. However in this pattern only two rows 161 and 163 of pockets are provided adjoining the detector pocket 129. These rows are likewise separated by a longitudinal wall 165 and the pockets individually are separated by the transverse walls 167. The pocket 129 is provided with a weir 169 at the beginning of the wall 165 for delivery of the liquid to be frozen into the smaller adjacent pockets 171 and 173. The remaining pockets in the rows 161 and 163 are substantially identical to the pockets 171 and 173 and are intermediate in size between the pockets in the tray 76 and the pockets in the tray 125. Similar weirs are provided at the intersections of the longitudinal wall165 with the remaining transverse walls similar to the transverse wall 167 such as is indicated by the reference character 175. Also stiffening ribs 177 are also provided in the transverse and longitudinal walls.

This arrangement provides a selection of at least three different sizes of ice cubes or frozen pellets. However, due to the use of the uniformly sized single detector pocket, the freezing time allowed is substantially the same for all the trays. This assures that regardless of which tray is used, substantially the same time will be allowed for completion of the freezing of the liquid in the pockets. This assures that the liquid in each of the pockets will be completely frozen before being discharge into the bin 121.

While the embodiment of the present invention as herein disclosed, constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. An automatic liquid freezer including a mold having a set of liquid receiving pockets arranged in a plurality of transverse and longitudinal rows and a single liquid receiving detector pocket adjoining said set of pockets, means for delivering liquid to be frozen to said pockets, means for freezing the liquid in said pockets, said single detector pocket being larger and inherently slowerin freezing than said remaining set of liquid pockets to assure that the liquid in the remaining pockets is frozen before the completion of the freezing of the liquid in the detector pocket and means comprising a detecting means associated with said detector pocket and responsive to the freezing of the liquid in said single detector pocket for discharging the frozen liquid from all of said pockets.

2. A liquid freezer according to claim 1 in which the mold is provided with a weir connecting the detector pocket with at least one of said set of pockets and said set of pockets being provided weirs connecting each pocket with the adjacent pockets and in which the liquid delivering means delivers all the liquid to the single detector pocket for delivery to all the other pockets in the mold.

3. A liquid freezer as defined in claim 1 in which said single detector pocket alone is provided with insulating means and in which the means for freezing of the liquid comprises means for circulating around said mold air at temperatures below the freezing point of the liquid to be frozen.

4. A liquid freezer as defined in claim 1 in which all the liquid to be frozen is delivered to said single detector pocket for delivery to all the other pockets in the mold.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,407,058 9/1946 Clum 62344 X 2,844,088 7/1958 Barton 62135 2,942,435 6/1960 Nelson 62-370 X 2,996,895 8/ 1961 Lippincott 62-370 3,014,350 12/1961 Harle 62139 3,021,695 2/1962 Voigtmann 62370 3,143,866 8/1964 Frohbieter 62-135 X MEYER PERLIN, Primary Examiner.

ROBERT A. OLEARY, Examiner.

W. E. WAYNER, Assistant Examiner. 

1. AN AUTOMATIC LIQUID FREEZER INCLUDING A MOLD HAVING A SET OF LIQUID RECEIVING POCKETS ARRANGED IN A PLURALITY OF TRANSVERSE AND LONGITUDINAL ROWS AND A SINGLE LIQUID RECEIVING DETECTOR POCKET ADJOINING SAID SET OF POCKETS, MEANS FOR DELIVERING LIQUID TO BE FROZEN TO SAID POCKETS. MEANS FOR FREEZING THE LIQUID IN SAID POCKETS, SAID SINGLE DETECTOR POCKET BEING LARGER AND INHERELY SLOWER IN FREEZING THAN SAID REMAINING SET OF LIQUID POCKETS TO ASSURE THAT THE LIQUID IN THE REMAINING POCKETS IS FROZEN BEFORE THE COMPLETION OF THE FREEZING OF THE LIQUID IN THE DETECTOR POCKET AND MEANS COMPRISING A DETECTING MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH SAID DETECTOR POCKET AND RESPONSIVE TO THE FREEZING OF THE LIQUID IN SAID SINGLE DETECTOR POCKET FOR DISCHARGING THE FROZEN LIQUID FROM ALL OF SAID POCKETS. 